The UK Dragonfire consortium led by MBDA will produce a Laser Directed Energy Weapon (LDEW) Capability Demonstrator for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) under a £30 million contract announced on 5 January.
The project will assess LDEW technologies and approaches, and will work toward a demonstration of the system in 2019 in order to inform decisions on the future of the programme and help the MoD’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory establish a road map to an in-service capability.
The contract will assess how the system can pick up and track targets at various ranges and in varied weather conditions over land and water, to allow precision use.
If successful, the first laser weapons would come into service in the mid-2020s.
Harriet Baldwin, Minister for Defence Procurement, said: ‘The UK has long enjoyed a reputation as a world leader in innovation and it is truly ground-breaking projects like the LDEW which will keep this country ahead of the curve.’
The UK Dragonfire consortium includes MDBA, QinetiQ, Leonardo-Finmeccanica GKN, Arke, BAE Systems and Marshall ADG.
The new Bushmasters will be used by the Australian Army’s second long-range fires regiment, to be based at the Edinburgh Defence Precinct in South Australia as part of the 10th Fires Brigade.
The British Army’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP) has struggled to make it to competition but there are hopes progress will be made this year.
The aid stations are designed to be mounted onto trucks, such as the Rheinnetall HX family of vehicles, and will be in ballistic protected and unprotected versions.
The contract is for transmissions for the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center (JSMC) in Lima, Ohio for new tanks and overhaul and repair activities at Anniston Army Depot.
Jerusalem’s air defence capabilities procurement efforts will receive up to $190 million.
In the medium-term Lithuania has committed US$1.3 billion which includes Javelin ant-tank missiles, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs), Black Hawk helicopters, missile systems and missiles.
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